Game Of Thrones Recap: Season 7, Episode 3 - The Queen's Justice

Contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7, episode 3
War has officially made landfall in Westeros. In the third episode of season 7, we were treated to a reunion, a long-awaited first meeting, a battle, and two major character deaths. Will Jon Snow and Daenerys see eye-to-eye? Has Sam managed to achieve the impossible by curing Jorah? Can anything stop Cersei and Euron from dominating the battlefield? Find out the answer to these questions and more with our detailed breakdown of "The Queen's Justice."

What happened last time
In the last episode, Melisandre (Carice van Houten) urged Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) to summon Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Jon and Sansa (Sophie Turner) argued about the invite, but Jon eventually shut her up by leaving her in charge of the North. Later Jon and Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) had a hand-to-throat chat in the crypts. Cersei (Lena Headey) engaged in a propaganda campaign with the Lords of the Reach, and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) continued to give her concerned glances. Arya (Maise Williams) made the decision to head North, and had two unexpected reunions. Sam (John Bradley-West) convinced Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) to undergo an experimental treatment that we're pretty sure isn't FDA-approved. Yara (Gemma Whelan) remembered why Euron (Pilou Asbæk) was the uncle they were never allowed to hang out with, while Theon (Alfie Allen) went for a swim. 

Dragonstone
Jon and Davos (Liam Cunningham) land on Dragonstone with a small retinue, and they're greeted by Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel). After a few pleasantries, Jon's men are forced to hand over their weapons, and Jon watches unhappily as the Dothraki carry his rowboat away, cutting them off from their ship.  As they walk up the long switchback stair to the fortress, the dragons fly overhead, sending Jon and Davos ducking and scrambling.

Melisandre and Varys (Conleth Hill) watch them approach from above, and Varys asks Melisandre why she isn't there to greet Jon. After all, it was her idea. She reveals that they didn't part on good terms, and says she will go to Volantis. When Varys advises that she never return, Melisandre says something very curious. "I will return, one last time. I have to die in this strange country, just like you."

Jon and Davos meet Daenerys on her throne. After Missandei reads a litany of titles which makes little impression on Jon, Dany demands that he swear fealty to her. Jon refuses, citing what the Mad King did to his grandfather and uncle, and instead tells her about the army of the Night King. Dany (not convinced) asks forgiveness for what her father did, and asks Jon not to "judge the daughter by the father," but doesn't budge in her demands.

In what may be her best speech of the entire series, Daenerys lays out exactly why she has kept going all of these years, and why she deserves the throne. Davos then gives an impassioned speech about Jon and how the leaders in the North have chosen him to rule, and nearly lets slip Jon's secret about being resurrected. They're interrupted by Varys, and Dany dismisses Jon and Davos. After they leave, Varys reveals what happened to the Greyjoy fleet and the Dornish when they were attacked by Euron. She asks if there were any survivors.

On a boat
We cut to a brief scene, showing Theon being pulled from the ocean onto a Greyjoy ship. The captain of the ship (who was from Theon's side) asks about Yara. Theon reveals she was captured, but claims, "I tried to save her." The captain looks at him with scorn, replying, "You wouldn't be here if you tried."

King's Landing
Euron parades through King's Landing on his horse, leading Yara, Ellaria (Indira Varma) and Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) in chains. The crowd cheers him and jeers his prisoners, hurling refuse and insults at them. Inside the throne room, Ellaria sees the Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) and looks stunned that he is alive. After triumphantly presenting the Sand Snakes to Cersei, Euron takes an opportunity to poke at Jaime by asking him about Cersei's preferences in bed. Before Jaime can muster a reply, Euron leaves, taking Yara with him.

In the dungeon, Cersei shows off her sadistic side. She taunts a bound and gagged Ellaria about the death of Oberyn, and then turns her attention to Ellaria's remaining child, Tyene. "I imagine she's your favorite," Cersei says, before giving Tyene a poisoned kiss. Cersei tells Ellaria that she'll get to watch every moment as her daughter dies and her body decomposes.

Apparently, torturing people gets Cersei hot, because she later finds Jaime in her chamber and kisses him passionately. While we worried at first that she had refreshed her lethal lipstick, they both wake the next morning and are still in bed when a maid arrives. Despite Jaime's protests, Cersei opens the door, no longer afraid of what anyone thinks about their relationship.

Later, Cersei meets with Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss) of the Iron Bank, which is calling in its loans. Cersei points out the Iron Bank lost quite a bit of money in the slave trade because of Daenerys. This is a strange (and inaccurate) point for the show writers to put in, because Braavos was built by former slaves, and does not engage in the slave trade. Cersei asks for more time, swearing that the debt will be paid in two weeks.

Dragonstone
Tyrion and Jon meet on the cliffs of Dragonstone and Tyrion tries to convince Jon to bend the knee. "She protects people from monsters, just as you do," he says. "It's why she came here." Tyrion asks Jon what he wants from Daenerys. Later, Tyrion tells Dany about Jon's need for dragonglass. He advises that Dany stop being so prideful and do this as a gesture of goodwill.

Later, Jon and Dany meet on the long stairs, watching the dragons fly. While their conversation is still chilly, Dany tells Jon she will allow him to mine the dragonglass. While Jon is grateful, Daenerys still refuses to say if she believes him about the Night King.

Winterfell
Sansa takes a tour of Winterfell, showing along the way that she is quite a capable ruler. Littlefinger gives her some advice that basically boils down to this: "Plan for every eventuality, and you can never be surprised." They are interrupted when a commotion draws Sansa to the gate. It's Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Meera (Ellie Kendrick), returned from beyond the Wall. Sansa embraces him, crying, but Bran seems distant.

Later in the Godswood, Sansa points out that Bran is Ned's last living trueborn son. "You're Lord of Winterfell now," she says. But he replies, "I can never be Lord of Winterfell. I can never be Lord of anything. I'm the Three-Eyed Raven." When Sansa asks for an explanation, she gets much more than she bargained for when Bran reveals that he saw her wedding to Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) in the Godswood, and knows what happened to her. Appropriately freaked out, Sansa makes a quick exit.

Oldtown
Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) examines Jorah, who is definitely looking better. Knowing that this was no miracle, Ebrose declares Jorah cured. Sam and Jorah speak in private after Ebrose leaves, and Jorah says he'll be going to find Daenerys. Before they part ways, Sam shows us how obviously confident he is in his cure by offering Jorah an ungloved hand to shake.

Later, Ebrose confronts Sam about the treatment, and Sam admits to it. Ebrose points out the danger of what Sam did, but shows a grudging admiration that he managed to pull off such a difficult and exacting procedure. "That man is alive because of you," Ebrose says. "You should be proud." Still, Sam does get punished for disobeying: he's assigned to copy a huge pile of old and rotting books and scrolls. At least there was no poop montage this episode.

Dragonstone
Daenerys expresses her wishes to go find Euron's fleet herself on her dragons. Tyrion, Varys, and Missandei advise her that this is a horrible idea and Dany reluctantly agrees. Talk turns to Casterly Rock, where the Unsullied will be arriving soon.

Casterly Rock
The main group of Unsullied attacks the walls of Casterly Rock, lifting ladders in a scene straight out of The Lord of the Rings. While Casterly Rock is said to be impregnable, Tyrion reminds us of something Bronn (Jerome Flynn) once said about the Eyrie: "Give me 10 good men, and I'll impregnate the bitch." A small group of Unsullied goes through a secret sewer passage Tyrion had built long ago, giving them access to Casterly Rock. They open the gates and the rest of the Unsullied pour in.

The battle ends quickly, with the Unsullied victorious. But for some reason, there are not enough men guarding Casterly Rock. Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) looks out and sees that Euron's fleet has trapped the Unsullied fleet, destroying it easily. Furious, Grey Worm grabs a nearly-dead Lannister soldier, and demands to know where the rest of the Lannisters are. We soon find out.

Highgarden
A huge Lannister army marches on Highgarden. Leading them is Jaime, and we also see that Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner) has joined the Lannister cause. We do not see Highgarden fall, just the aftermath. Jaime walks through the castle as his men pile up bodies and stack bars of gold and other spoils.

Jaime speaks with Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg), and explains how the Lannisters abandoned Casterly Rock in order to trap the Unsullied. Talk turns to the sword Jaime is wearing, and it's previous owner, Joffrey. Olenna begins to insult Cersei, trying to talk some sense into Jaime, but he's having none of it. He tries to show her mercy by offering her some poisoned wine. She drinks it up quickly, before revealing that she was the one who poisoned Joffrey. Olenna instructs Jaime to tell Cersei. "I want her to know it was me," she says. Disgusted and barely able to contain his anger, Jaime leaves her to die alone.

Final thoughts
This was a good, but frustrating episode. Seeing Jon and Daenerys meet for the first time was amazing, but they seem to have gotten off to a bad start in forging an alliance. Hopefully her offer of dragonglass will help smooth the waters. Bran and Sansa's reunion was similarly frustrating, with Bran not even hugging his sister, and then later acting like a monotone psychopath by telling Sansa he knows what Ramsay did to her.

The battle at Casterly Rock—and the lack of a battle at Highgarden—was a little underwhelming, but we understand that producers probably needed to save budget for the rest of the season. There were some standout moments though: Indira Varma's emotional performance in the dungeon scene was amazing, and Sam and Jorah's handshake was another tearjerker. And finally, we must say farewell to the incomparable Diana Rigg, who truly brought the Queen of Thorns to life. Next week should be amazing, and it looks like Daenerys will finally strike back against the Lannisters. See you then!